If you’ve been personally injured due to someone else’s actions or negligence, you may be entitled to file a lawsuit. This isn’t necessarily a simple matter, and if you want to increase your chances of winning, you’ll need to prepare.
What should you do to get ready for filing your personal injury lawsuit?
Talk to a Lawyer, Now
The sooner you talk to a personal injury lawyer, the better.
Your personal injury lawyer is going to be your representative in this case. They’re going to help educate you on the personal injury lawsuit process. They’ll help you evaluate your claim. They’ll represent you in demands and negotiations. They’ll even represent you in court.
When you first talk to a lawyer, they’ll go over the details of your case and decide whether it makes sense to move forward with a lawsuit. Depending on the nature of your injury, the circumstances of that injury, and the severity of the expenses you face, they may or may not recommend moving forward.
If they do recommend advancing a lawsuit, they’ll provide you with next steps and you’ll have an opportunity to ask them any questions you might have.
Keep in mind there is a statute of limitations for personal injury lawsuits, which varies by state, so it’s important to act quickly.
Familiarize Yourself With the Process
Next, familiarize yourself with the process of a typical personal injury suit. Every case is different, so you may or may not go through all of these steps:
- The incident. Immediately after the injury, you should start planning about how you want to handle it. Talk to a lawyer as soon as possible after the accident.
- Medical treatment. It’s vital that you seek medical treatment as early as possible to demonstrate that you handled the injuries appropriately.
- Investigation. Your lawyer will then guide you in an investigation, so they can better understand the details of the case and gather evidence.
- Demands and negotiations. With evidence in hand, your lawyer will likely make demands and pursue negotiations. The vast majority of personal injury lawsuits are settled out of court, though this process can still take many weeks or months.
- Lawsuit filing. If negotiations fail, you may need to proceed with filing a lawsuit.
- Discovery. After filing the lawsuit successfully, discovery will begin and both parties will search for and exchange information.
- Mediation and further negotiations. At this stage, both parties may pursue mediation and further negotiations.
- Trial. If the parties cannot reach an agreement outside of court, the case may go to trial, and a judge will make the final decision.
Gather and Preserve Evidence
Your lawyer will help you with this, but it’s a good idea to gather and preserve as much evidence as possible. Collect any camera footage that shows the incident as it happens, take photos and videos, and keep all your medical receipts. It may even be advantageous to collect eyewitness testimony. The more information you have, the better.
Get Medical Attention and Follow All Medical Recommendations
It’s crucial that you seek medical attention and follow all medical recommendations. If you neglect to take appropriate care of your injuries, it could work against you in a personal injury lawsuit. Make sure to document all the appointments you attend and keep records of all payments you have made.
Follow Your Lawyer’s Advice
Throughout this process, you need to follow your lawyer’s advice. You hired them because they’re an experienced, qualified professional, and they’re in a much better position to make winning decisions than you are. Definitely feel free to ask questions to better understand the process, but take your lawyer’s guidance seriously.
Avoid Public Commentary
You may be tempted to talk about your injuries or the case itself, but it’s best to avoid this, at least publicly. Don’t post anything on social media about the case, even if you know it to be completely accurate or suspect it to be helpful to your case.
Practice Stress Management and Self-Care
Do keep in mind that this is going to be a very stressful process. Depending on the nature of your injuries, you may be in significant pain and you may be out of work. You may be dealing with financial pressure, tight schedules with ongoing appointments, and oppressive uncertainty about how everything is going to play out.
Even worse, this process could go on for months. Proactively practice stress management to foster better mental health; physical exercise, meditation, and conversations with friends and family are great places to start.
Personal injury lawsuits are time-consuming and stressful, but they’re sometimes necessary to win the compensation you deserve. As long as you’re willing to remain patient and trust the guidance of a legal professional, you’ll be in a position to be made whole.
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